Slicer for tomatoes or like produce



June 28, 1966 L. M. LACKERMAN 3,258,046

SLICER FOR TOMATOES OR LIKE PRODUCE Filed Nov. 15, 1963 I /F I L i L FIG. 5

FIG. 2 INVENTOR.

LESLIE M. LACKERMAN BY FULWIDER, PATTON,

RIEBER ,LEE 8. UTECHT ATTORNEYS 3,258,046 SLHCER FOR TOMATOES R LlKE PRODUCE Leslie M. Lackerman, South Gate, Califl, assignor of onetliird to Ernest I. Dalton and Martin L. Klein, Holly- Wood, Calif., and Artesia, Calif, respectively Filed Nov. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 324,081 4 Claims. (Cl. 146-151) The present invention relates generally to the field of food preparation and more particularly to a new and novel slicer for tomatoes or like produce.

In the preparation of sliced tomatoes for restaurant or other institutional uses, tomatoes are now manually sliced by means of a knife. Because of the time required to slice tomatoes in this manner, it is necessary to either slice a large quantity thereof prior to the time of use or alternatively to attempt to freshly slice the tomatoes immediately prior to use. Where the tomatoes are presliced considerable waste often occurs due to a too optimistic estimate of the quantity to be utilized. Where the tomatoes are sliced immediately prior to use the preparation of the other ingredients of the meals is delayed.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide an electric motor-driven slicer for tomatoes or like produce which permits rapid slicing of the tomatoes. With said slicer, Waste of pre-sliced tomatoes is eliminated, and yet the preparation ofmeals is not delayed because of the necessity of manually slicing tomatoes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a slicer for tomatoes or like produce which slices the tomato in such a manner that the individual slices remain together whereby they are not exposed to air, as is the case where tomatoes are manually sliced.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a slicer for tomatoes or like produce that utilizes a motor-driven horizontally reciprocating cutter blade assembly and incorporates a combined finger guard and tomato support that both restrains a users fingers from contacting the cutter blade assembly and holds a tomato as the weight of the tomato causes it to descend downwardly through the reciprocating cutter blade assembly under the influence of gravity.

A further object is to provide a slicer of the aforedescribed nature wherein the thickness of the slice of the tomatoes may be easily varied.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a slicer for tomatoes and like produce which is simple of design and rugged of construction whereby it may afford a long and useful service life.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a slicer for tomatoes or like produce which is economical of construction whereby it may find a wide market.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a slicer for tomatoes or like produce utilizing an electric motor-driven, horizontally reciprocating cutter blade assembly that is readily removable, said slicer having means for automatically rendering the electric motor inoperable during the time said cutter blade assembly is removed from the slicer.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a preferred form of slicer embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a central vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings, the preferred form of tomato slicer embodying the present invention includes a United States Patent 0 Patented June 28, 1966 ice.

housing, generally designated 10, having at its upper portion a forwardly extending horizontal support, generally designated 12, for a cutter blade assembly, generally designated 14; An electric motor 16 is mounted on the housing 10 and is adapted to effect horizontal reciprocation of the cutter blade assembly 14. In use, a tomato to be sliced is placed on the cutter blade assembly 14. Upon horizontal reciprocation of the cutter blade assembly, the tomato will gradually descend through said assembly under its own weight, with the cutter blade assembly effecting vertical slicing of such tomato as the latter undergoes downward movement.

More particularly, the housing 10 may conveniently be integrally cast or otherwise formed from a suitable metal or other rigid material. The major portion of the housing 10 is of truncated, generally frusto-conical configuration, with such configuration being defined by side walls 20. The upper portion of the side walls 20 are integral with a top wall- 22, while an integral neck 24 extends above the top wall 22. The horizontal cutter blade assembly support 12 extends forwardly from one side of the aforementioned neck 24. The underside of the side walls 20 may be provided with a plurality of support pads 26 of rubber-like material which rest upon a working surface.

The electric motor 16 is of conventional construction and is disposed within a cylindrical housing formed at its upper end with a cover 28 that is secured to the underside of the top wall 22, as by means of bolts 30. The electric motor 18 drives a vertically extending shaft 32, with such shaft extending through a ball bearing 34 that is carried by the top wall 22. A drive disc 35 is keyed to the upper end of the shaft 32.

The cutter blade assembly 14 includes a plurality of equidistantly transversely spaced-apartcutter blades 40. These cutter blades 49 have their opposite ends suitably supported within a frame 42. The rear end of the frame 42 includes a generally triangular lug 44 formed with vertically spaced bifurcations through which extends aligned vertical bores 46. The vertical bore 46 removably receives a vertical mounting pin 48 that extends downwardly through the front end of a crank arm 49.- The rear end of the crank arm 49 is pivotally secured to the drive disc 35 to one side of the latters center as by a bolt 50. A plurality of washers 52 are interposed between the underside of the drive disc 35 and the upper surface of the ball bearing 34. Rotation of shaft 32 will effect longitudinal sliding reciprocation of the cutter blade assembly 14.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 3, the side elements 12a and 12b of the cutter bar assembly support 12 are provided with transversely extending recesses 54 wherein the frame 42 of the cutter bar assembly 14 is slidably contained. The front ends of these slots 54 are open.. Accordingly, it is possible to readily remove the cutter bar assembly 14 by merely lifting the mounting pin 48 upwardly out of the vertical bores 46. This arrangement facilitates removal of the cutter blade assembly 14 for cleaning or sharpening. Additionally, it makes possible the ready substitution of a cutter blade assembly having different transverse spacing of the cutter blades 40.

A cover, generally designated 60, is provided for the upper portion of the housing 10. This cover may be of metallic construction and includes a flat closure plate 62 having a depending arcuate flange 64. The lower portion of flange 64 includes a lip 66 that is telescopically received by the inner periphery of the housing neck 24. The cover 60 is removably secured to the upper portion of the housing 10 by a plurality of wing-headed bolts 65,

the shafts of which extend through aligned vertical bores 66 and 63 formed respectively in the cover flange 64 and the housing neck 24. The bores 68 are suitably threaded to receive the shanks of the wing-headed bolts 65.

The forward portion of the cover 60 is formed with an upstanding arcuate shield 70. A similar arcuate shield 72 is formed on the rear portion of an end plate, generally designated 74, that covers the forward portion of the cutter blade assembly 14. The end plate 74 is longitudinally adjustably carried by the forward portion of the cutter blad support 12. To this end, the opposite sides of the plate 74 are formed with a pair of longitudinally extending adjustment slots 76a and 76b. These slots 76a and 76.; receive wing-headed bolts 79, the shafts of which extend into threaded bores 80 formed in the arms 12a and 12b of the cutter blade assembly support member 12. With this arrangement, the longitudinal spaces between the shields 70 and 72 may be adjusted to conform to the size of the tomato to be sliced. the shields 70 and 72 se'rve not only as a support for the tomato to be sliced, but also serve as a finger guard to restrain the fingers of the operator of the slicer from inadvertent contact with the blades 40.

The operation of the electric motor 16 is controlled by means of a manually actuated electric switch 84 of conventional construction and a microswitch 86 also of conventional construction. The manually actuated switch 84 is afiixed to the rear side wall of the housing while the microswitch 86 is affixed to the upper surface of the housing top wall 22. The microswitch 86 includes a vertical plunger 88 that is biased upwardly. The upper end of this plunger 88 is held in a depressed condition by its abutment with the underside of the cover flange 64 when the cover 60 is secured in its normal operating position. With the plunger 86 so depressed, the parts of the microswitch 86 will be disposed in an on condition. When, however, the cover 60 is removed, the plunger 88 will automatically snap upwards so as to place the parts of the safety microswitch 86 in an off condition. With this arrangement, inadvertent operation of the electric motor and hence the crank arm 49 and cutter blade assembly 14 is automatically prevented when the cover 60 is removed.

It has been determined that the cutter blade assembly 14 should be reciprooated at a rate of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 strokes per minute to afford satisfactory operation. If it is desireed to change the speed at which the cutter blade assembly 14 reciprocates, the crank arm 49 may be replaced with a similar crank arm of a different length. Such replacement is easily efiected by the removal of bolt 50 and mounting pin 48. With the speed of reciprocation of the cutter blade assembly 14 properly adjusted, a tomato to be sliced will readily move downwardly under its own weight as the cutter blades 40 undergo reciprocation.

While there has been shown and described what is presently considered to b a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made with respect to the foregoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A slicer for tomatoes or like produce, comprising:

a housing having a fixed forwardly extending horizontal support, said support including a pair of parallel sidewalls each formed with a slot having an open front end;

a cutter bar assembly mounted on said support for horizontal longitudinal reciprocal motion;

an electric motor on said housing;

power-transfer means drivingly interconnecting said motor and said cutter blade assembly whereby said motor effects the reciprocal motion of said cutter blade assembly at a rate of approximately 2000 to 3000 strokes per minute, said power-transfer means including a mounting pin that is readily withdrawn from said power-transfer means whereby said cutter blade assembly is removable from said support through the open front end of said slots;

a cover for said power-transfer means removably mounted upon said housing, said cover being formed with an upright arcuate shield normally disposed over the rear portion of said support;

an end plate removably mounted on the front portion of said support, said end plate being formed with an upright arcuate shield that cooperates with the shield formed on said cover to hold a tomato to be sliced as said tomato moves downwardly past said cutter blade assembly under its own weight and to restrain inadvertent human contact with said cutter bar assembly;

and switch means for actuating said electric motor.

2. A slicer for tomatoes or like produce, comprising:

a housing having a fixed forwardly extending horizontal support, said support including a pair of parallel sidewalls each formed with a slot having an open front end;

a cutter bar assembly mounted on said support for horizontal longitudinal reciprocal motion;

an electric motor on said housing;

power-transfer means drivingly interconnecting said motor and said cutter blade assembly whereby said motor effects the reciprocal motion of said cutter blade assembly, said power-transfer means including a mounting pin that is readily withdrawn from said power-transfer means whereby said cutter blade assembly is removable from said support through the open front end of said slots;

a cover for said power-transfer means removably mounted upon said housing, said cover being formed with an upright arcuate shield normally disposed upon the rear portion of said support;

an end plate removably mounted on the front portion of said support, said end plate being formed with an upright arcuate shield that cooperates with the shield formed on said cover to hold a tomato to be sliced as said tomato moves downwardly past said cutter blade assembly under its own weight and to restrain inadvertent human contact with said cutter bar assembly;

a manually-actuated switch for said electric motor;

and'a microswitch for said electric motor that is interposed between said housing and said cover to automatically cut off the flow of electric current to said motor when said cover is removed from said housing.

3. A slicer as set forth in claim 2 wherein said end plate is longitudinally adjustable relative to said cutter blade assembly support.

4. A slicer as set forth in claim 2 wherein said motor effects reciprocation of said cutter bar assembly at a rate of approximately 2000 to 3000 strokes per minute.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 224,631 2/1880 Berzine 146-424 1,724,598 8/1929 Johnston 146-67 2,036,403 4/1936 Friesel et al l46l5l 2,055,749 9/ 1936 Miller 146-168 2,789,606 4/1957 Solomon 146151 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Examiner.

W. G. ABERCROMBIE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SLICER FOR TOMATOES OR LIKE PRODUCE, COMPRISING: A HOUSING HAVING A FIXED FORWARDLY EXTENDING HORIZONTAL SUPPORT, SAID SUPPORT INCLUDING A PAIR OF PARALLEL SIDEWALLS EACH FORMED WITH A SLOT HAVING AN OPEN FRONT END; A CUTTER BAR ASSEMBLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FOR HORIZONTAL LONGITUDINAL RECIPROCAL MOTION; AN ELECTRIC MOTOR ON SAID HOUSING; POWER-TRANSFER MEANS DRIVINGLY INTERCONNECTING SAID MOTOR AND SAID CUTTER BLADE ASSEMBLY WHEREBY SAID MOTOR EFFECTS THE RECIPROCAL MOTION OF SAID CUTTER BLADE ASSEMBLY AT A RATE OF APPROXIMATELY 2000 TO 3000 STROKES PER MINUTE, SAID POWER-TRANSFER MEANS INCLUDING A MOUNTING PIN THAT IS READILY WITHDRAWN FROM SAID POWER-TRANSFER MEANS WHEREBY SAID CUTTER BLADE ASSEMBLY IS REMOVABLE FROM SAID SUPPORT THROUGH THE OPEN FRONT END OF SAID SLOTS; 